Hood, one of first African-Americans to enroll at UA, dies

Times Staff Report

Published: Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 3:40 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 7:14 p.m.

James Hood, a Gadsden native and one of the first African-Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama, on a day made famous by former Gov. George Wallace's “stand in the schoolhouse door,” died Thursday. He was 70.

James Hood of Gadsden, one of the first African-Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama, in a situation made famous by former Gov. George Wallace's “stand in the schoolhouse door,” died Thursday, according to a local funeral home.

FILE | GADSDEN TIMES

Hood and Vivian Malone attempted to register and pay their fees on June 11, 1963, at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and federal marshals.

Wallace, surrounded by state troopers, barred their entry in an initial confrontation with Katzenbach. Later that day, however, the governor obeyed an order from National Guard Gen. Henry Graham to step aside, after President John F. Kennedy federalized the Guard.

Hood remained at the university for only a few months, then withdrew and moved to Michigan. He received a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University and a masters' degree from Michigan State University, before returning to UA and achieving his goal of a doctorate.

A 1961 graduate of Carver High School, Hood was honored by the Central-Carver Federation at its annual banquet in 2011.

Gadsden City Councilman Robert Avery, also a Carver graduate, said of Hood, “One of the giants of the civil rights movement has passed away. It's poetic that 50 years later, a lot of celebrations and things are going on, and we'll also be celebrating his life and contributions to our struggle here in Alabama.”

Central-Carver Foundation Chairwoman Kathryn Barrett said Hood's life depicted “the ideal spirit and heritage of Carver High School, and the qualities and principles embedded by the administrators and teachers at Carver.”

Barrett said Hood was a personal friend, and “a partner in all the endeavors of upgrading humankind and improving the quality of life for everyone. We regret his loss, but his memory will always be alive and well.”

In a 2011 interview with The Gadsden Times, he said his drive to attend UA stemmed from a newspaper article he saw while attending Clark College in Atlanta. The article claimed blacks were 200,000 years behind in developing the brain structures associated with higher mentality.

“I said, ‘This is wrong, just absolutely wrong,'” he recalled. “The survey was done on me and a lot of blacks in my class. They said they looked at our brains, and they were too small and couldn't understand anything. So I got mad and said I wanted to do something about it.”

Clark also didn't offer a degree in psychology, which Hood wanted to pursue.

Autherine Lucy in 1956 was the first African-American to enroll at UA, but was she suspended and later expelled by the board of trustees after several days of unrest on campus.

Hood didn't note his race on his first application to the university, and it was returned. On his second application, he identified himself as “Negro American Negro.”

“They knew that I was black, they knew that,” Hood said.

Hood said Dr. Martin Luther King assigned a key aide, Andrew Young, to assist him with his application and the ensuing legal fight. Young contacted the NAACP Defense Fund, which helped Hood successfully sue the university.

A federal judge ordered that Hood and Malone be admitted and barred Wallace from interfering. President John F. Kennedy had assigned federal marshals to protect the students, and Hood said Kennedy knew in advance that Wallace would step aside after making a statement criticizing federal efforts to integrate the university.

“It was a song and a dance, that's all it was — with the president's permission,” he said.

Hood and Malone registered that day, and Hood said despite some death threats and racist incidents, he generally was treated well at UA. However, his father was fatally ill with cancer — something he didn't know until he'd enrolled in school — and that was the primary reason he withdrew.

After leaving UA, Hood went to Detroit to live with an uncle. He worked for Ford Motor Co. and earned an undergraduate degree from Wayne State University.

Hood worked with Coleman Young, Detroit's first African-American mayor, and was appointed deputy police chief.

He later earned a master's degree from Michigan State and went into education in Wisconsin. He worked at the Madison Area Technical College for 26 years, retiring in 2002 as chairman of public safety services in charge of police and fire training.

“Dr. Hood will always be remembered at Madison Area Technical College for his ability to build consensus — an essential skill for anyone in a position of leadership in higher education but in even larger measure for someone in human and protective services,” said Denise O'Rourke, an administrative assistant at the college. “He was a kind and gentle man who defined the concept of ‘servant leadership' — he always placed the welfare of others first.”

However, he always wanted to return to UA and finally did, earning a doctorate in 1997.

Two years earlier, he met with Wallace at the former governor's office in Montgomery and accepted his apology for what happened in 1963.

Wallace met Hood and Malone, then Vivian Malone Jones, together for the first time a year later, prior to a black-tie dinner in Montgomery at which Jones received a courage award from Wallace. Jones died in 2005.

Hood also attended Wallace's funeral in 1998, saying at the time, “In my opinion, George Wallace in the latter part of his life did more to change not only his attitude but the attitudes of more people. The other thing is he's an example of who understands pain and suffering. He and I share something that until many years ago we did not realize the significance of it.”

Asked how he'd like to be remembered, Hood said, “... As one who stepped through the world, trying to make it better, that's all. I just did what I thought was right.”

<p>James Hood, a Gadsden native and one of the first African-Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama, on a day made famous by former Gov. George Wallace's “stand in the schoolhouse door,” died Thursday. He was 70.</p><p>Hood and Vivian Malone attempted to register and pay their fees on June 11, 1963, at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and federal marshals.</p><p>Wallace, surrounded by state troopers, barred their entry in an initial confrontation with Katzenbach. Later that day, however, the governor obeyed an order from National Guard Gen. Henry Graham to step aside, after President John F. Kennedy federalized the Guard.</p><p>Hood remained at the university for only a few months, then withdrew and moved to Michigan. He received a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University and a masters' degree from Michigan State University, before returning to UA and achieving his goal of a doctorate.</p><p>A 1961 graduate of Carver High School, Hood was honored by the Central-Carver Federation at its annual banquet in 2011.</p><p>Gadsden City Councilman Robert Avery, also a Carver graduate, said of Hood, “One of the giants of the civil rights movement has passed away. It's poetic that 50 years later, a lot of celebrations and things are going on, and we'll also be celebrating his life and contributions to our struggle here in Alabama.”</p><p>Central-Carver Foundation Chairwoman Kathryn Barrett said Hood's life depicted “the ideal spirit and heritage of Carver High School, and the qualities and principles embedded by the administrators and teachers at Carver.”</p><p>Barrett said Hood was a personal friend, and “a partner in all the endeavors of upgrading humankind and improving the quality of life for everyone. We regret his loss, but his memory will always be alive and well.”</p><p>In a 2011 interview with The Gadsden Times, he said his drive to attend UA stemmed from a newspaper article he saw while attending Clark College in Atlanta. The article claimed blacks were 200,000 years behind in developing the brain structures associated with higher mentality.</p><p>“I said, 'This is wrong, just absolutely wrong,'” he recalled. “The survey was done on me and a lot of blacks in my class. They said they looked at our brains, and they were too small and couldn't understand anything. So I got mad and said I wanted to do something about it.”</p><p>Clark also didn't offer a degree in psychology, which Hood wanted to pursue.</p><p>Autherine Lucy in 1956 was the first African-American to enroll at UA, but was she suspended and later expelled by the board of trustees after several days of unrest on campus.</p><p>Hood didn't note his race on his first application to the university, and it was returned. On his second application, he identified himself as “Negro American Negro.”</p><p>“They knew that I was black, they knew that,” Hood said.</p><p>Hood said Dr. Martin Luther King assigned a key aide, Andrew Young, to assist him with his application and the ensuing legal fight. Young contacted the NAACP Defense Fund, which helped Hood successfully sue the university.</p><p>A federal judge ordered that Hood and Malone be admitted and barred Wallace from interfering. President John F. Kennedy had assigned federal marshals to protect the students, and Hood said Kennedy knew in advance that Wallace would step aside after making a statement criticizing federal efforts to integrate the university. </p><p>“It was a song and a dance, that's all it was — with the president's permission,” he said.</p><p>Hood and Malone registered that day, and Hood said despite some death threats and racist incidents, he generally was treated well at UA. However, his father was fatally ill with cancer — something he didn't know until he'd enrolled in school — and that was the primary reason he withdrew.</p><p>After leaving UA, Hood went to Detroit to live with an uncle. He worked for Ford Motor Co. and earned an undergraduate degree from Wayne State University.</p><p>Hood worked with Coleman Young, Detroit's first African-American mayor, and was appointed deputy police chief.</p><p>He later earned a master's degree from Michigan State and went into education in Wisconsin. He worked at the Madison Area Technical College for 26 years, retiring in 2002 as chairman of public safety services in charge of police and fire training.</p><p>“Dr. Hood will always be remembered at Madison Area Technical College for his ability to build consensus — an essential skill for anyone in a position of leadership in higher education but in even larger measure for someone in human and protective services,” said Denise O'Rourke, an administrative assistant at the college. “He was a kind and gentle man who defined the concept of 'servant leadership' — he always placed the welfare of others first.”</p><p>However, he always wanted to return to UA and finally did, earning a doctorate in 1997.</p><p>Two years earlier, he met with Wallace at the former governor's office in Montgomery and accepted his apology for what happened in 1963.</p><p>Wallace met Hood and Malone, then Vivian Malone Jones, together for the first time a year later, prior to a black-tie dinner in Montgomery at which Jones received a courage award from Wallace. Jones died in 2005.</p><p>Hood also attended Wallace's funeral in 1998, saying at the time, “In my opinion, George Wallace in the latter part of his life did more to change not only his attitude but the attitudes of more people. The other thing is he's an example of who understands pain and suffering. He and I share something that until many years ago we did not realize the significance of it.”</p><p>Asked how he'd like to be remembered, Hood said, “... As one who stepped through the world, trying to make it better, that's all. I just did what I thought was right.”</p>
<p class="italic font120">Times Associate Editor Greg Bailey, Montgomery Bureau Chief Dana Beyerle and Staff Writer Andy Powell contributed to this report.</p>